Dubai: A 19-year-old student escorted a sick relative on a trip to Europe and fell into bad company that introduced her to drugs and soon, she was an addict who returned with contacts of a drug dealers in Dubai, said Dubai Police, warning of the dangers of teenagers travelling abroad unsupervised.
The warning came in the light of the arrest of a drug dealer in Dubai, who had the telephone numbers of many Arab girls in his contact list to whom he was supplying illegal painkillers.
Referring to the case of the teenager who became a drug addict, Dubai Police said upon her return to the UAE, she was referred to the Society Communication Section at the police’s Anti-Narcotics Department to enable her to join rehabilitation sessions so she could quit the habit.
The girl, when she arrived in Europe, met with a group of friends who introduced her to pills and convinced her that taking them would make her a happy person.
Soon, she was asking for more pills and when she was to return to Dubai, her friends gave her the contact number of a drug dealer.
“She didn’t know that we were setting a trap for him as we were summoning anyone who was contacting him including this girl. Now she is in rehab,” a police officer said.
No case has been registered against the girl as this has been her first time. She told the police that she didn’t know it was illegal to take those painkillers which are listed in the prohibited drugs category in the UAE.
Her father was shocked when he learnt of his daughter’s drug addiction. Police offered him tips to help his daughter quit the habit.
Dubai Police have cautioned parents against sending their young children abroad unaccompanied and to be always in communication with them to prevent them from picking up bad habits. Some of the drug addiction cases that have come to the attention of Dubai Police recently are of teenage children who met strangers on their trips abroad and those persons introduced them to the habit.
